A Buffalo Plaid Affair

Okay, I have a confession to make... I have a little obsession with buffalo plaid. I switched a lot of my Christmas decor over to the traditional red and black check, I own at least two buffalo plaid shirts, and I am just a little upset that my son is old enough to choose his own birthday parties because I would most DEFINITELY choose lumberjack as a little man theme.

Before I go on, let me side note to the year that I did dress L up in buffalo plaid so he could be Paul Bunyan for Halloween. He was only 1, and we marched in the Hanover Halloween Parade. L took first for youth costumes. We painted my dog, Kohlie, Blue - to be Paul's trusty companion Babe the Blue Ox. Ahhhh.... time flies too quickly.

Now that I've gone down memory lane, fast forward a couple years. My mom's good friend reached out in hopes that I would help her plan a couple's shower for her son and his bride-to-be. It was going to be in March, which meant it would still be chilly, and the event would be hosted indoors. She told me that she wanted to bring in some reds and blacks, and possibly green, but didn't want it to look too Christmas-y. She also stated that she wanted it to reflect her son, since she was throwing a couple's shower for them both.

I immediately said, "Can we use buffalo plaid?" To which she replied, "What is buffalo plaid?" After I convinced her to trust me, the buffalo plaid couple's shower was born. A little bit woodsy, a little less lumberjack, and so incredibly beautiful. Definitely one of my favorites to date!

Party Type: Couple's Bridal Shower

Venue: Home of the Groom's Parents - Forest Hill, MD

Party Theme: Woodsy

Total Guests: 50

Dessert: cupcakes (Flavor Cupcakery - Bel Air, MD)

Favors: mason jar glasses (customized by mother of groom)

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Right inside the door, I had this idea of guests being welcomed by a sign. If you know me, you know I am all about event decor being able to be used in multiple ways. I knew I wanted to create a chalkboard sign that I could use at any of my events. I started scouring Goodwills and rummage sales for the size and frame type that I was looking for.

Enter the Loganville Barn. Down the street from my house, in the little town of Loganville, is an old barn filled to the brim with junk. Literally, every trash to treasure junkie out there would love this place. It's hard to navigate, everything is covered in dirt and dust, and it smells. But, it had what I was looking for.

I removed the glass and backings and painted the frame in some white chalk paint. My dad had some extra plywood lying around that I painted in chalkboard paint. Add the stand that I found at AC Moore on clearance, and voila, chalkboard sign! I actually made a smaller one at the same time. It is pictured further down in this post!

I knew I wanted to highlight the large stone fireplace in the home, especially with the theme. I also knew I wanted to use live greenery to decorate the space. I actually found these greenery garlands at Costco! They were already bundled together and not insanely priced. I loved them. Two of the garlands were used to highlight the beautiful wooden mantle.

I brought the buffalo plaid in using table runners and ribbon that I tied around bottles and mason jars. I bought some additional white and red flowers to accent some floral arrangements that I made. I also wanted accents of gold glitter. I found the letters on the mantle at Hobby Lobby inexpensively. I then coated them with a layer of glitter to give them a pop on the mantle.

I made signs for each of the bride and groom chairs using some materials I found at Hobby Lobby and my Cricut. I loved that I found buffalo plaid scrapbook paper to accent.

I used some wood slabs, galvanized metals, deer antlers, and feathers to accent throughout the decor. The deer antlers and feathers were taken from my home - my husband is a bit of an outdoorsman! I also used black linens throughout.

In looking at my designs, you will probably see lots of mason jars. Mason jars are one of my favorite things to use because they are so versatile! Drink cups, vases, just standard decor - I love them! And they can be painted, glittered... whatever you dream up. For this event, I decided to glitter quite a few jars in the same gold glitter. I didn't use it everywhere, just in small places to bring in the feminine touch.

The dessert table was one of my favorite aspects! I set up the desserts on a sideboard that was in the home. The cupcakes were ordered from Flavor Cupcakery in Bel Air, MD. I made all of the deer antler cupcake toppers to match the theme of the event. At the request of the mother of the groom, I also created custom Hershey kiss labels for guests to eat. I love how the dessert table turned out for this event!

The favors were custom made by the grooms mother. The glasses were ordered online and the customization was printed on vinyl. They were an absolute hit with the party guests.

Overall, I LOVE how this buffalo plaid, woodsy couples shower turned out. I also love that the event was held in the home that the groom grew up in. So often, we turn to larger spaces to host our events. Not everyone needs to have a table to sit at or room to spread their legs. Sometimes, the best events take place where we are familiar. Best wishes to the new bride and groom!